Ice Skating is Fun
by Hatsubloo93
Summary: A short story about a few friends who go ice skating, with just a tiny bit of romance


**A little something I wrote cuz of the cold season over here.**

**Nothing special, but I hope you all enjoy ^^**

* * *

"Hurry, you guys!" Desmond shouted as he was jogging on the 2 inch snowy path. Following right behind him were Kadar and Federico, filled with glee as they were getting close to the lake up ahead.

"Wait up, Des!" Kadar yelled back, huffing as the cold wind hit against his face and hair.

"Yeah, this isn't a race." Federico called out to the other.

And right in back of them were Altair, Malik, Shaun, Ezio and Leo; walking at a slower pace, with their pair of skates hanging over their shoulders. Since the lake out in the woods is frozen solid, they thought it would be fun to go ice skating; though, not all of them had agreed to this. Only half of them had protested against the idea because they didn't know how to. But, that is why they had Leo come along. He's had more experience, so he'll have to teach them. That…And get a chance to hang out with Ezio of course.

"God, I'm freezing my ass off." Malik started complaining, shivering from the cold. He hugged himself with his only arm to keep himself warm.

"As am I." Leo agreed. They continued on walking besides each other; with Altair trailing not far from them. "But, it'll be worth it; trust me."

"Oh yes, it'll be a blast; looking forward to it." Shaun replied sarcastically.

"How you got us to come along in this weather, Leo, still eludes me." Malik muttered. "I could have stayed home where it's nice and warm.

"If you're complaining so much, why don't you just turn back now?" Altair commented. "No one is forcing you to stay."

Without turning around to face him, Malik just says, "You would like that wouldn't you?…As if I would leave my little brother alone in your care." He can feel Altair glaring at him now. "If I didn't come, I might find out in the news later, that my brother was killed in an accident because of you….."

Altair tried to ignore that remark, and plastered a smirk on his face, "Is that jealously I hear? What, you can't stand that your brother likes hanging out with me more than you, and this is your only way to get his attention? That's kinda sad."

That time Malik did look behind him, staring with annoyance in his eyes, "No. What's sad is that you invited yourself to come along. And also because you have no friends except for my brother, and that is the only reason why you are here now." He spat angrily. "Honestly, I can't help but feel pity for you at times."

If he thinks he has won this argument, he is so wrong. "Pity? I'm not the one who is missing an arm here." Altair counters.

Malik stopped abruptly, to turn around, about to get in his face, "What did you say?!-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys, come on!" Shaun intercepted them before things could get ugly, "Let's not do this now! You two can kill each other after this is done. Alright?" They continued to glare dagger eyes at each other as he started pulling Malik away. At the same time, they tore their eyes off each other, and Altair did nothing but stand there, staring angrily at the ground. He swears that Malik can get on his nerves at times, but….

Ezio came up to his side, "Nice one, Altair….That was exactly what we need right now." The other man narrows his eyes at him as he kept walking with the others. Leo had stay behind, standing next to Ezio, hearing him sigh. "I don't understand…." Leo looks at him, "It's like this all the time; they always bicker."

"Hmm…" Leo began to ponder on that thought, "I do observe how much they do remind me of an old married couple, and now it's starting to become clear to me. Maybe they are doing it on purpose."

Ezio raised a brow, "Cosa?"

"Maybe it's because they argue so much, only so they can hide their true feelings for each other."

"True feelings?..." It takes him a moment to think about that, "So you say whenever they fight is because they secretly like one another?"

"Si" Leo nods his head, "Perhaps a lot more than you think~"

Ezio starts by nodding his head, but the next moment he was very uncertain what he meant by that, "I don't get it…" He said.

The look of confusion on his face was making Leo smile wide. It's cute how he can be so naïve at times. "Come! We should not keep the others waiting." He begins pulling him by the arm.

The others watched as Leo pushed forward on his skates; he jumped in the air, rotated two times, then he landed gracefully. Federico and Ezio thought it was impressive and started to clap lightly. "That was pretty impressive." Federico said.

Ezio nods his head in agreement, "Si. Very nice."

Leo came to a stop, placing his hands on his waist, with his head held high "Why thank you. But this is easy compared to the other tricks I may know."

They can hear Kadar falling on his ass after trying to attempt the same move that Leo performed. "Ouch!"

"Hang on, buddy." Federico chuckled, coming over to his side, and help him to get up.

"He makes it seem so easy…." Kadar said quietly, rubbing at the pain in his behind.

Leo quickly disregarded the others to look at Ezio, with a big smile, "Why don't I help you learn a few moves?"

"That would be great. But nothing to advanced, okay?" Leo takes his hand, and they skate away together.

"Oh, trust me! By the time this week is over, you'll be skating like a pro!"

"Eh, I seriously doubt that…Whoa!" Ezio nearly loses his balance but Leo held onto him, making sure he doesn't fall.

Desmond and Shaun were skating side by side, coming across Altair who is slipping and wobbling over the ice. He was barely letting his hands touch the ice, trying not to lose his balance. "Hey, Altair….You alright?" Desmond stopped to ask. Altair was ignoring him as he stood up in a standing position for a brief moment but suddenly fell back. Desmond came up to him, seeing if he was okay, "If you want I can…"

"Go away, Desmond!" Altair growled, pushing himself back up, but finding it difficult to stand on his feet when the surface on the ice is too slippery. "I can do it myself."

"Are you….Sure?" Altair starts to glare at him.

Desmond shrugged, "Okay…Geez." Both Shaun and Desmond left him to be alone. Malik was watching Altair from a distance as the other two came up to him.

"Don't even think about wasting your time with that bloke." Shaun advised. "He's positively hopeless."

"The dude is too damn stubborn, that's for sure." Desmond added.

Malik looked back at Altair, seeing as he wasn't getting anywhere. He could tell the man was frustrated trying to understand the basics of balancing, but failing miserably. He wouldn't be having this much trouble if he just asked for help, but even if he did, the others aren't really good teachers, and Leo is too busy flirting with Ezio to even notice.

So Altair is on his own, doomed to stumble and collapse. This was starting to get a bit depressing, but it is also quite amusing to Malik. It's not often that he gets to enjoy seeing Altair suffer, so why not watch a while longer?

But then he got an idea. He was skating towards Altair, making himself known, "Having fun?"

Altair made a deep sigh, rolling his eyes, "What do you want, Malik?"

"Oh, I just came over to check up on you." He sees Altair start to glare dagger eyes at him, "And…It looks like to me, you're sucking terribly." He laughs almost mockingly, "I mean, I know I'm new to this as well, but even I was able to get the basics in just a few minutes."

"Oh shut up!"

"Chill out, novice. No need to get defensive….."

"….I'm not a novice!" Altair said in an irritated voice, face reddening a little, "Just leave me alone."

Okay, that should be enough fun for now; Malik did want to take this somewhat seriously. "I don't see why you think this is so difficult. Learning to balance is pretty easy; it's almost like roller blading except on ice. You have tried that haven't you?"

"Not since I was six or seven years old…..Nowadays, I climb buildings and jump from rooftop to rooftop as a hobby."

"That sounds incredibly dangerous. You have to be an idiot if you think that's fun."

Altair rolls his eyes, "So, why are you even here, anyways? Are you going to stand there all day criticizing me?"

"Well, as much as I would like seeing you proceed to act like a fool, I thought maybe…..I-I can assist you in some way." Malik said, rubbing the back of his neck with his one good arm.

Altair raised a brow in confusion, "What is this?...Now all of a sudden, you're acting friendly and want to give me advice?" He saw him shrug, and for some reason he didn't like that kind of response, "Yeah, I don't buy it. Just go away; I don't need anyone's help, especially from a cripple."

Malik balled his hand into a fist, "You know what? Fine! If you don't want help, I'll just leave you here all by yourself and you may continue with your embarrassing struggle in the middle of the ice," He turns his back on him, "Sorry if I bothered at all."

It had not occurred to Altair that he brought up that **word** again. He instantly regrets saying that and wanted to slap himself, "Malik, wait!" He caused the other man to stop and turn back around, staring down at him. "I…I, uh….I'm sorry." Malik begins to scrutinize him. "I shouldn't have said that; and I'm sorry for the comment I made earlier. It was completely out of line, and I understand if you won't forgive me for it, but…..I'm sorry, okay?" This was a surprise for Malik. He stuffed his hand into his pocket, casting his eyes down at his feet. The novice was actually right about something for once; yes, hearing people saying stuff like that can go a little too far. It can be very hurtful at times, but having to hear Altair say it to his face was probably even worse. If only he wasn't so attractive to him, it probably wouldn't have bothered him that much. But now that he's apologizing for it...It does make him feel a bit better.

"Um…..It's….It's alright; don't worry about it. I know that we hardly get along. And the things that I say to you can be extremely harsh at times. Sooooo, I'm sorry too, I guess." A smile stretched over Altair's face. That was a look he has never seen before….Well, towards him at least. It was enough to almost make him blush red like a tomato. "Here, I'll help you up" He extends his hand out to him.

Altair sat up straight, raising an eyebrow at him, "You still want to help me?"

"You're going to have to learn somehow. Just take my hand before I change my mind." Altair quickly took a hold of his hand, and Malik hauled him up to his feet. Altair wobbled over the ice as he stood up fully, but was quickly losing his balance again. He started to panic a little as he thought he might fall again, so he brought Malik closer into a hug, trying to hang on. Malik had lost his footing, feeling himself slipping, "Altair….Calm down…You're gonna…." They both fell. Though, it wasn't a hard landing, as Altair was holding Malik in one arm, while his other arm was placed on the ice, stopping them from falling. They were shocked at how close they were. They were face to face, and they started blushing; Malik was mostly red in the face because Altair did just break his fall, and his hand was gripping onto his coat tightly.

* * *

"What's going on over there?" Ezio asked, skating cautiously next to Desmond and Shaun. Leo had moved right beside him, looking where the rest were staring.

Desmond cocks his head to the side, "I think….Altair just made a move on Malik."

It didn't really seem that way at first, but neither were letting go other the other, and staying in that one spot. Leo grew a smile on his face, and Ezio stared as well, but he was confused. They were all watching them; all of them except for Federico and Kadar, who were pretty preoccupied with each other; too busy holding hands and spinning in circles to even notice.

* * *

Altair sat back on knees, giving Malik some space. "I'm sorry about that. I couldn't keep myself steady and I panicked….."

"It's alright, Altair. You didn't hurt me." Malik said.

"A-Are you sure?" Altair started scanning him over just to make sure.

Malik just gave a nod of his head, "…Yes" This was weird. Usually, they would have fought about whose fault it was, but not this time. He wasn't used to seeing Altair care about him. Which is why he thought it was weird. Why does he care all of a sudden? Or maybe Malik is the one is the one who is acting differently? He stared into Altair's golden eyes, wondering if he knew exactly what he was thinking.

Then he finally spoke, "Malik….Can I ask you something?…."

"About what?"

"…..I wanted to know if…Well, if you are….That maybe…We….." He paused, biting his lower lip, stopping himself from finishing his statement. He suddenly thought this wasn't the right moment to tell him; no, this didn't feel right at all. Looking away from the one armed man, he sighs, "Nothing, nothing; just forget about it." That was disappointing. Malik had hoped that Altair would just be out with it already. Whatever it was he was about to say, it must have been important because he looks so flustered; as if he had a chance to ask a girl out and he somehow blew it.

In a way, Malik can understand him. So he leaned closer to Altair, grabbing a hold of his chin, and gave a small kiss to his cheek. It caught Altair off guard, causing him to fall backwards, and he stared at Malik with a surprised expression, blushing slightly. He lifted a hand up to his face where those lips had touched him. He couldn't believe Malik had done that; it was really unexpected. Malik started shying away, blushing hard, "Thanks anyways…Novice." He quickly pushed up on one knee and he was back on his skates. He glanced at Altair one last time before taking off. After waiting a few seconds in silence just watching the other man skating, Altair just noticed that he was gone and was still stuck here. "Malik?...Malik, wait! You said you would help me! Get your ass back here, damn it!" He shouted as he tried going after him, but fell again.

"Those two sooooo want each other." Desmond spoke.

"Definitely…" Shaun agreed.

Ezio sent the pair a questioning look, and he hears Leo also replying, "Si. I knew they liked each other. They are certainly meant to be."

"Aspettare….What are you guys talking about?"

Leo laughed, as he grabbed him by the wrist, "I'll tell you later." He tells him while dragging him along.

Then it was Shaun and Desmond's turn to laugh.


End file.
